Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria is being used to select the body administering funding from the statutory gambling levy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In line with the Gambling Act 2005, the levy will be collected and administered by the Gambling Commission under the strategic direction of the government. As set out in the government’s response to the statutory levy consultation, we have appointed UK Research and Innovation and NHS England as the research and treatment commissioners respectively. This approach will leverage world-leading expertise among existing public bodies, maximise efficiency and see levy funding directed where it is needed most. Further consideration of the evidence is needed in order to appoint an appropriate body to lead the prevention strand of the levy system. We will confirm our decisions in due course.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the publication entitled Farmed fur animals harbour viruses with zoonotic spillover potential, published by Nature on 4 September 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This paper has been discussed at the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance group, the cross-Government risk assessment group, where it was recognised that there are several novel viruses detected in fur farmed animals as well as other species farmed for other uses (rabbits and nutria). Further work is now taking place to analyse the risk these viruses may pose to public health as well as animal health, bearing in mind that fur farming is not permitted in the UK but that such “exotic” animals (raccoon dogs, mink, squirrels) may be kept as pets.